Only two clubs have won all three of their Champions League games this season, and both needed a wild evening on Tuesday to keep it that way.
In Paris, PSG ended Barcelona’s run of eleven straight wins with a 4-2 victory at the Parc des Princes. Désiré Doué gave the hosts the lead after 38 minutes with a low shot. Ten minutes into the second half, 19-year-old Xavi Espart burst down the left and scored his first European goal for Barça. Lucas Hernández restored PSG’s lead with a powerful header from a corner, and Lamine Yamal answered with a clever finish from a tight angle to make it 2-2. The champions then struck twice more: Vitinha volleyed in a bouncing ball, and Fabián Ruiz added the fourth with four minutes to go. Ousmane Dembélé limped off early with an injury, a worry ahead of the weekend.
Liverpool’s night started badly. Georges Mikautadze punished a weak Virgil van Dijk header after four minutes, and Sergi Cardona doubled Villarreal’s lead before the half-hour. A Mac Allister header from a corner sparked the fightback, and Araujo, unmarked at the back post, made it 2-2 just before the interval. After the break 18-year-old Rio Ngumoha took over, setting up Mac Allister’s second goal; Florian Wirtz then made it 4-2. Tani Oluwaseyi’s late goal for Villarreal only made the last minutes nervous. The teenager created two goals, and coach Andoni Iraola praised his attitude while reminding everyone that the winger is “only 18”.
Elsewhere, Phil Foden hit a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed AEK Athens 5-1, Borussia Dortmund won 2-1 away at Sabah in Baku, and Roma beat Slovan Bratislava 4-0. Bayern against Arsenal and Real Madrid against Leipzig follow on Wednesday.
